In her late 20s, SiO Beauty founder Gigi Howard started seeing wrinkles on her chest after sleeping on her side. Some time after, one of her doctor friends showed her the benefits of medical-grade silicone patches to heal scars, leading to her lightbulb moment: using the same concept for smoothing fine lines and wrinkles. But it wouldn’t be an easy road: Howard worked on more than 180 prototypes and tested the patches in two clinical trials over the course of four years until the results met her standards. Now, they’ve become a cult-phenomenon, even going viral on TikTok—the hashtag #wrinklepatches has racked up more than 48 million views.
We tried silicone patches to reduce the appearance of face wrinkles
These are my honest thoughts on the SiO Beauty SuperLift Pack anti-wrinkle patches for the face.(You can try it too in this week’s installment of BeautyPass’s Free Gift Friday. Click here to sign up for BeautyPass if you haven’t already).
My Skin Type:
Combination. I’m drier in the cold-weather months and oilier in the warm-weather ones thanks to the high humidity on the East Coast.
The Benefits:
This is one of the easiest anti-aging treatments you can use: Just place the patch on your skin, and voila! Hence the reason there have been so many knockoffs over the years. Like a medical-grade silicone patch that heals scars—I wore one on my C-section scar—the idea is that the silicone creates an occlusive environment, trapping moisture so the skin can hydrate itself and avoid transepidermal water loss. Whether you have dry skin or not, hydration can be so healing in and of itself, but it can also lend a smoothing and plumping effect.
And in addition to more moisture, the physical wearing of the patch keeps the skin areas underneath taut with a gentle compression of sorts, keeping lines, wrinkles and the like from forming (or worsening), especially if you’re a side-sleeper and accustomed to waking up with lines on your face. This multitasking pack of facial patches includes one BrowLift patch (for the forehead and 11’s between the brows), one set of Super EyeLift patches (for the under-eyes and crow’s-feet) and one set of SmileLift patches (for the smile lines around the mouth). You don’t have to use them all at once—sometimes certain lines stand out more than others due to stress, etc—so you can pick and choose what wrinkle treatment goes where and when.
Though I’m not an all-night side-sleeper, I’ve been told by my dentist that I clench my teeth at night, so I’m sure my brow furrows too. Therefore I gravitated most toward the BrowLift patch, and my skin does look smoother in the morning after sleeping in it. I also love a good under-eye patch, and it’s nice that these don’t slip down, and cover enough territory to include the crow’s-feet, not just the circles and bags.
Key Ingredient:
100-percent medical-grade silicone
What They’re Free From:
Parabens, petroleum/petrolatum (paraffin), mineral oil and phthalates
How to Use Them:
Perhaps my most important tip is to make sure your skin is clean and dry before applying the patches. I had a friend try these in the past and complain that they fell off during the night, but it was because she applied them on top of her night cream, thinking it would help “lock in” the benefits of the cream (like a sheet mask), but that’s the not how these patches work. To start, remove the plastic film from the back of the patch and position it where you want the line-smoothing action. I typically only like to use them at night while I sleep—you forget you have them on and wake up to the appearance of smooth skin; and they last six to eight hours—but on work-from-home days with no Zoom meetings, they can also be a nice treatment, especially if you have a big event that night.
To reuse patches—they’re reusable up to 10 times each—the brand recommends holding your skin taut with one hand and gently removing the face patches with the other, then rinsing the patches lightly with water when it needs a little cleaning, which is every time in my opinion—dead skin cells are gross! Then you can place the reusable patches on the shield they came with (so don’t throw them away), adhesive-side down, and store it in the resealable pouch it comes with.
What They Feel Like:
Gentler stickers, meaning they don’t rip off your skin like a sticker one, but they’re sticky enough to stay put on your face all night.
What They Smell Like:
Nothing
The Bottom Line:
These anti-wrinkle patches do what they say they will, but the downside for me is not being able to apply my usual skin-care lotions and potions (I’m a heavy-hitting ingredient kind of girl) because you have to use them on clean, dry skin. I think they’re fun and effective to use before a big event—I also think they make a great gift for your beauty-obsessed friend who has “tried everything”—but I don’t consider them a staple in my routine.
Price/Where to Buy:
$55, siobeauty.com
